How to Fall for a Scoundrel by Kate Bateman book review

I love everything that Kate Bateman writes and this book did not disappoint. This book is part of Her Majesty’s Rebels series and this is the story between Eleanor Law and Henri Bonheur (or Harry). Ellie and Harry meet under the mistletoe, share a quick kiss and then end up having to be professionally associated. At first glance, Harry seems to be a conman and possible reformed criminal. He uses a lot of aliases and Ellie doesn’t know which one is the real him. He does come to the rescue of Ellie’s and her friends by posing as Charles King from King & Co. London’s most successful private investigation form. 

I am a huge fan of spy/investigative/mystery historical romances. The chemistry between the main characters was sizzling. It turns out that Harry has a mystery of his own and it’s possible that Ellie and her friends can help him. As they uncover his mystery, Ellie and Harry have to face their undeniable attraction. All the characters are charming. I love the funny, witty and fast paced dialogues. There is enough suspense to keep you reading until the end. So, just be prepared to settle in with this book. You will have to finish even if you have to read it until 3am (speaking from experience). I love the friendships between the women and I kept cheering Harry on as he built up Ellie’s confidence in herself. A great read! A definite add to your TBR pile. 

 This book will be released August 20, 2024. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

The Lady Plays with Fire by Susanna Craig book review

I jumped right into book #2 of this series without realizing it. I was totally sucked into the book by the series title, Goode’s Guide to Misconduct. I mean, who wouldn’t like that in a historical romance? Our two main characters are Julia Addison, who is the daughter of a clergyman, a lady’s companion and an anonymous play reviewer in London. Graham McKay, Earl of Dunstan, aka Blackadder is a playwright. The Earl is a patron of plays and Blackadder write the plays. Blackadder is a harsh critic of people and the ton in his plays, but people pack the stands to see what outrageous things will happen on stage. The Earl delights in reading the reviews, until the one Julia writes in Mrs. Goode’s Magazine for Misses. 

Right away the reader can see that Julia and Graham are the perfect match because they are both writers and they enjoy theatre. They both have a lot of societal issues to deal with. And they both need to earn a living. Graham uses a pen name because members of the aristocracy are not supposed to work. Julia uses a pen name because women are not supposed to be writers. They are both intrigued by each other and little do they know they are trying to uncover each other’s secret identities. The Lady Plays with Fire is a well written historical romance with a fun plot and a sexy romance. The chemistry between the characters does not disappoint. There is some humor, some drama, good friendships and strong women. There is a lot of witty word play and a bit of a slow burn. But they definitely get to the spice. If you happen to be a theatre buff, you will love the story even more. This is a sexy enemies to lovers story. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

Kilt Trip by Alexandra Kiley book review

This book is a contemporary romance that takes place in Scotland. Addie Macrae is a travel company consultant from the US. She is working for what seems like a start up and is very loyal to her boss. As a consultant, Addie is looking at the bottom line and advising tour companies on how to make a profit. She gets sent to Scotland by her boss and kind of goes undercover by signing up for the tour before her consulting job starts. She gets a little lost and turned around, but finally meets up with the tour group and their hot and sexy guide, Logan Sutherland. Logan believes that a tour guide should take people to out of the way places they might not find on their own. He also likes to talk about the history and tell personal stories about these places. He is also a big supporter of local small business owners and as the tour ends, he takes people to a pub run by his friend. He treats people like family and wants them to leave Scotland with good memories. Addie is the last one to leave the pub and she is definitely charmed by Logan. *swoon* 

The next morning Addie is all business as she shows up at the family owned tour company and didn’t expect Logan to be there as one of the owners. They butt heads right from the start. Addie and Logan’s father want the business to stay afloat and be profitable. Logan refuses to hear about the tourist trap tours that Addie pitches. He wants to give customers a unique and custom experience. You can see where the tension comes in with all of the above. However, Addie and Logan have undeniable chemistry and things heat up between them. They both have a lot of thinking to do about how they resolve their personal issues, job issues and find what it means to be “home.” I love the setting of this book. I think the author captured the heart of Scotland. She acknowledged both the touristy side of Scotland, along with the out of the way historical aspects and day to day life. I fully appreciate the hot man in a kilt and Logan used it to his advantage. This book is a fun and sexy romance. Perfect to take with you on any travels, the beach or an evening at home. There is some drama (but there has to be) before the happily after ever. I think there was a lot of depth to the main characters, but also to the secondary characters were well developed. A definite must read that will make your heart melt.

🔥 Enemies-to-lovers 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland 

🏰 Castles 

🚐 Tour bus shenanigans 

❤️ Love 

🐉 Nessie 

🐑 Sheep

Swap and Smell the Roses by Karen Booth book review

This book was a fun small town romance. Main character, Willow, agrees to swap her NY city apartment with her best friend’s cottage rental in Connecticut. Bailey, the best friend, forgets to give Willow the keys and she has to as the grumpy landlord for a spare key. Reid is the grumpy landlord, doesn’t talk much, but is hot. I feel like their chemistry sparked right away, but Reid stubbornly held out because he is not up for meeting people or any entanglements whatsoever. The cottage that Willow is staying is a bit dated and she accidentally floods her space while doing laundry. This forces her to move into the big house with Reid. Both Reid and Willow are working to get over some grief and hardships. Willow is ready to give up on her music career, even though she is really talented. She gets a temporary job in a local bakery and quickly works her way into town life. Reid is the opposite. He returned home after suffering from burnout as a famous chef. He never wants to cook again and has been avoiding everyone from town. 

I loved both the characters. Willow is hard working and funny. Reid is hard working and grumpy on the surface. He seems to initially be annoyed by Willow’s spunk, but in reality she was really working through the emotional wall he built up. I like their interactions at the farmer’s market. I loved how Reid supported Willow. Readers will not be disappointed once their attraction finally explodes into something more. I was waiting for the spice and the author delivered! You’ll find yourself rooting for them and a happily ever after. It’s a fun quick read that will pull you in. Perfect for a relaxing weekend or a beach read. I thought the cover was really pretty. It reflected Willow’s city life and Reid’s passion for gardening. Super cute!

Finding Mr. Write by Kelley Armstrong book review

As a fan of Kelley Armstrong’s YA books, I was looking forward to this one. I really enjoyed the author’s note in explaining that it was her first rom com and how it was inspired. It made me like the book even more. The main female character is Daphne McFadden. She is an architect who just built her off-grid dream home in the Yukon. She is dealing with multiple losses. She was inspired to write the book, but an agent would not pick it up. Daphne decides to submit the book with a male pen name and all of a sudden she is on the bestseller list! Daphne and her lawyer friend, Nia, concoct a plan to invent a man to fit her pen name. Enter Chris Stanton, a hot accountant, smart, sexy and a bit nerdy. He takes on the Chris Ainsworth persona as his stage/actor personality to play Zane Remington, the male author Daphne invented. These twists and turns add some humor to the story. As Daphne’s book keeps climbing the bestseller list, she now finds that “Zane” has book festivals, interviews, speeches, signings and a book tour. All this turns into a forced proximity, slow burn romance as Chris and Daphne travel together. Things definitely get complicated. There are secrets, coverups and even a bit of blackmail. Things get pretty spicy as they admit their feelings for each other and figure out what the future holds for them. 

I’ll admit that as I was reading this, I wondered how much of the publishing industry insight was true. How many women use male pen names to get published? I think the author had some fun with what might happen if that pen name situation spiraled out of control. I think both characters were well developed and the chemistry grew as they got to know each other. But the spark was there with physical attraction from the beginning. I like that the chapters alternated between Daphne and Chris narrating. The setting is fun, the hookups are steamy and the HEA makes me happy. All the things I want in a contemporary romance. This book comes out June 25, 2024. It’s a great addition to your TBR pile and a great weekend escape. Oh, and I LOVE the punny title! 

 Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Earl’s Trip by Jenny Holiday book review

As you can tell by the title, this story follows three best friends on their annual September holiday to the country. Archibald Fielding-Burton, Archie to his friends, and also the Earl of Harcourt is very much looking forward to this year’s trip. He has a lot to talk about to his friends and is ready to blow off some steam. Simon and Effie are the two other men on this trip. They get interrupted by Clementine and Olive’s father, who is worried about his daughters. The Morgan sisters end up on this men’s trip and hilarity ensues. Clementine Morgan has been Archie’s friend since they were little. They have not seen each other in a while. Clementine is a bit of a wild child and is currently opposed to marriage. Olive was about to be married off, but she was realizing too late that he was not the right man for her. This is definitely a great friends to lovers romance. I love that Clementine and Archie were so competitive in different things. I also really like that Clementine loved her sister and Archie really loved his friends. The fact they have an annual trip planned is really sweet. An interesting twist in the story was that Clementine was a vegetarian, which usually does not show up in historical romances and it was nicely woven into the story. This was just such a fun story. There were some sad aspects to what the individual characters were personally dealing with, but it just added to the depth of the story. I loved all the characters. This book is definitely worth reading. Perfect weeknight or weekend escape.

The Trouble with Inventing a Viscount by Vivienne Lorret book review

 

This is the second book in the Liars’ Club and the story of Honoria Hartley and Oscar Flint. Honoria is an expert makeup artist, which comes in handy in her thespian family who is always putting performances on their family stage. Honoria was somewhat betrothed by her grandmother in a letter to Viscount Vandemere, who has been missing for years and presumed dead. However, Honoria uses it as an excuse to avoid other marriage proposals and pursue her path to freedom as a single woman. Unfortunately, her penchant for gambling gets her into some trouble in Paris as she wins the money Oscar needs to pay off his debts. He hears about her Vandemere scheme and shows up at her doorstep as the long lost Viscount Vandemere. She knows he’s lying and is a con artist, but they both play along because he needs the money and she needs her secrets kept. He does move into “his” house that is filled with Vandemere relatives sponging off the estate. They are pretty sure he is lying, but there are some family secrets and no one can be totally sure. Oscar is in his own way an honest thief. He steals money out of necessity and only from the wealthy that have wronged others. There are lots of funny scenes. Honoria and Oscar are always trying to one-up each other and from that their attraction starts to grow. This is definitely a zany, quirky book that is just a lot of fun to read. There are a lot of laugh out loud moments. I really like that Honoria has a huge family that is all up in her business and Oscar has been on his own for a while now. This book is a bit of a slow burn, but there are sparks and when they finally act on their feelings it gets steamy. Honoria has met her match and it makes for a delightful read. Put this book on your TBR and get ready for its release on September 24, 2024. Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.